In a land with no hope, your face shines through
by AkayaWrites
Summary: "I promise I'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to us," she croaks out, pain evident in each syllable.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Katie, what if…what if, we get caught," Emily whispers, trepidation in her voice. She stares at the white blank wall opposite of the wall that she is currently leaning on, her back slightly aching from the position that she had been holding for over an hour now.

She sighs as she leans her head back, shifting the weight of her body so that the numbness from the side that she had been sitting on could subside.

She could feel the bed shift, as Katie, who is sitting a couple of inches away and is almost mirroring her exact position, turns her head to face her twin.

"Ems, don't think like that. When have we ever been caught? We're THE Fitch twins. I'll be surprised if they even manage to realize that we've fucked off," Katie whispers back. Emily notices the fatigue in her sister's voice. Katie masks it well with her unwavering confidence.

Emily isn't convinced, but she appreciates Katie's optimism.

She feels a hand cover her own, and a smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. She turns her palm over and holds Katie's hand. They stay like this for another couple of hours, and aside from the quiet buzzing of the faded flickering light above their heads, silence consumes the air.

It's been almost a year now since they've joined Calavent 3. Almost a year since they've last seen James and their parents. Emily squeezes her eyes shut, trying to forget, trying to stop the overwhelming urge to be sad. Sadness doesn't get anyone anywhere. She feels Katie give her hand a comforting squeeze, which Emily gladly accepts. "At least I have Katie," She thinks to herself. She doesn't know what she would do if she had lost her twin as well.

Emily closes her eyes once more, thinking back to when they had first joined the force. She and Katie had been wandering the thick forests of Proelio, with no idea where to go, no idea what to do. Both distraught, confused, lost, and without hope, all they could do was wander.

They should feel relieved, grateful even, that they had managed to survive the onslaught of raiders that attacked their humble town. They felt anything but. Their friends and family…all gone; never to be able to breathe the same air as them.

After a long bout of walking, they had somehow managed to fall asleep underneath the shelter of a massive clump of roots from a large withering sequoia. Emily had been awakened by the sounds of rustling in the nearby shrubbery, and crouched down as low as she could, backing further into the shelter of the roots. She squinted, frantically trying to figure out the source of the sound. She feels Katie awakening, but doesn't worry about her making any sounds. She would already know what it was that has her on edge, the gift of being a twin, but even more so in their case. Katie and she would somehow always know, no matter the circumstance, what the other was feeling, and not in a telepathic sort of way. There was something about their twin connection that always immediately knew what the other was thinking, feeling, and everything in between, to the exact thought that they would be thinking, no eye contact nor words necessary. She feels Katie wriggle silently next to her, no words needing to be exchanged. Together, they scope the outside area, their eyes in sync with one another. Katie notices it first; movement, in the shrubbery only five feet away from them. Emily's breathe hitches, and she feels Katie do the same. Surely, opposing enemy wouldn't get so close, especially since they were both very aware of their presence.

"Fuck," Katie breathes, and as if on cue, multiple cloaked figures jump out from behind the underbrush. Without a second thought, both Katie and Emily jump up simultaneously, following the lead of their invaders.

It was then that everything seemed to happen at once. Emily doesn't remember the exact details of the occurrences, but what she does remember is this: these invaders weren't there to kill or maim them. If they had been, Katie and she would have already been dead within the first few seconds of their fight. She remembers being thrown back onto the ground; her arms and legs were being held down by two of the cloaked figures. She struggles, kicks and thrashes to the best of her abilities, but to no avail. Not needing to even look toward Katie, she already knows that she is being put through a similar treatment. Next thing she knew, a rucksack has been placed over her head, and lifted, not thrown, into a small vehicle, and that's when her consciousness had failed her.

* * *

><p>Emily feels Katie squeeze her hand harder, and she knows that Katie can feel her heart rate speed up, as it always did when she reminisced about things passed. Emily squeezes back once more, willing herself to stop thinking. But, as always, it doesn't work.<p>

She thinks back to when she had awoken from her unconsciousness, hands and legs no longer being held down, her frantic thoughts kept at bay when she feels Katie near her. She looked around, realizing that they were not alone. All around her, she sees the cloaked, no longer hooded, men surrounding the bed that she had been placed. Panic setting in once more, she sits straight up, scrambling to get up. Before she could act, a rather large man step forward and lightly holds both of her wrists in his right hand, placing his other arm around her waist, lifting her off the ground.

His hold on her is firm, but unnaturally gentle.

"Miss Fitch, will you kindly not thrash about," a deep, knowing voice floats toward her ears. Emily immediately stiffens. The voice was so, kind. Somehow, the voice calmed her enough to stop her muscles from continuing their assault on her captor.

"Can YOU kindly tell us what the fuck is going on?"

Emily hears Katie's voice come from a large body that stood right next to the man who held her at bay. She notices the irritation in Katie's voice, which is of course, masked with indifference.

"Please," the voice speaks again, "allow me to explain the events that have transpired in the last 24 hours, but you two young ladies need to promise me that you will not cause any trouble during my explanation. I would rather my men unhand you both so that we can talk civilly."

The man with the soothing voice appears from behind the cloaked figures. His face shows his old age, but aside from the deep forming wrinkles and crevices on his face, nothing about him was young. His body was built in an almost bionic way, muscles bulging through his blue and silver uniform.

Katie and Emily look at each other briefly, coming to a silent agreement.

Emily locked eyes with the man, and nods her head briefly.

"Very well," he says. He looks at the men holding the two girls, giving them both a nod. The hand that held Emily's wrists suddenly let go, and so does the arm that is wrapped around her waist. With surprising gentleness, he places her back on the bed that he captured her from. Emily's senses told her that Katie was experiencing the gentle treatment.

After both Katie and Emily were both situated, they look back at the old man that stood in front of them, as if to signal for him to begin.

And so he did.

* * *

><p>Emily slowly opens her eyes, feeling Katie's eyes boring holes onto her face.<p>

"Ems, stop thinking about it."

Emily looks up into Katie's eyes. "I can't," she whispers back.

"There was no way we could have predict-," Katie begins, but is cut off.

"I know."

Katie sighs, and with her hand still firmly holding Emily's, she turns over, back facing her.

"Get some sleep, Ems. Please. Tomorrow is a big day," Katie mutters.

Katie was right. There was no way that they could have predicted the mutiny. When Dr. Crenshaw, the man responsible for their capture, offered them a job working with the Cantavit 3, a special forces group within the small community of Tectum, they accepted without hesitation.

The job promised them what they could not obtain by themselves; protection from opposing communities. Sure, the two were more than capable of taking care of themselves, but from other individuals, not entire communities. Both Emily and Katie were extremely skilled in hand to hand combat, and most importantly, stealth, which was perfected with their exceptional twin intuition. But when it comes down to it, there was no way they would survive the violent, war torn chaos that Proelio had become, on their own. Tectum, along with other neighboring communities within the land of Proelio, would be in constant battle with one another, and it didn't do good to be in the middle of the crossfire on one's own.

She doesn't remember a time when the land of Proelio wasn't in constant chaos. The worst part was, that everyone in the land was at fault. The continuing depletion of all the land's resources was caused by the people of Proelio. Century after century, people ignored the fact that the land's natural resources were precious and needed to be conserved and rationed.

Centuries later, the land had run out.

It had been exactly two decades since the citizens of Proelio finally realized that there were not nearly enough natural resources to go around. Things like water, good land, flora, and fauna, were depleting rapidly. People started to panic, and communities started planning ways to give themselves the upper hand in the fight to preserve what was left of the land to keep for as their own. As years went by, it was no longer about preserving the land. It became a fight to survive no matter the cost, until the inevitable fact that sometime in the near future, the land will soon die, taking the people, along with it.

Both Katie and Emily had been working with the Cantavit 3 for over a year now. The job of the Cantavit 3 was simple. Kill opposing authority. Along with the other members of Cantavit 3, 15 extremely skilled soldiers in total, the Fitch twins went on missions that required them to track, then assassinate, people of power in communities that were against Tectum. The group was responsible for Tectum's main tactic point against the hundreds of other smaller communities in Proelio: get rid of the higher powers, and everyone else will follow suit.

Emily scoffs. Simple, they said. It was anything but.

In the past month alone, Emily and Katie had endured more wounds and had experienced more near death experiences then they could count. Emily was surprised that they'd managed to no get themselves killed yet.

"Ems, please, get some sleep. Worrying won't help anyone."

Katie rolls over, her voice thick with sleep. She looks up at her restless twin and sighs.

She draws herself up to her sister's level, and brings he arms up, encasing her in a hug.

Emily stiffens. Katie was never one to show affection. It's nice, she thought, as she leans her head on top of her sister's head, Katie's own head fixed at the crook of her neck.

"Let's sleep, yeah?" Katie whispers.

Emily smiles, resting her head more comfortably on Katie, her tired eyes slowly closes.

"Ems, I promise you, everything will be okay. I won't let anything happen to us."

* * *

><p>Her palms start to sweat, eyes darting more frequently, as she navigates through the security holds of her confinement. Her back is beginning to ache, due to the constant crouching. Although she cannot see her, Emily can feel Katie close by, following as close as she could without raising suspicion. Tonight's escape should raise no complications. She and Katie had planned everything, down to the last second. She shouldn't be worried.<p>

Tonight was the night they would finally be free from the confines of the walls of Tectum.

It took weeks of planning their escape, but they needed to leave. It was essential. The communities alliances were breaking, and at a rapid pace. Soon, there would be no alliance, within ANY of the communities, not just Tectum, and it would be a free for all. The one and only priority people would have now would be themselves. Everyone against everyone.

It was Katie's idea to leave. She explained to Emily her concerns about them becoming primary targets, seeing as they would soon be viewed as a threat from the other citizens of Tectum. Especially their fellow soldiers from Cantavit 3. They knew of their combative skills, which immediately earned them a spot on the top of the threat list.

Emily didn't need more convincing.

But something was wrong. She could feel it. The air tasted of formidable conflict. Her senses are warning her of something, but she continues as planned. There's no turning back now.

She can see the end of their trek, just ahead. Just another hundred feet, and they were safe. The plan will have worked.

All of a sudden she feels a sharp pain of foreboding in her heart, which makes her stumble. Keeping her balance, she continues.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees movement in the shadows, and before she can act, a blunt object collides with the side of her body, just below her left rib. Her eyes widen as she gasps for air. Red, hot searing pain catches her off guard, as she momentarily freezes from shock. She grits her teeth, not wanting to go down so easily, crouching low to the ground and sweeps her left leg toward her invader. Her foot catches, and in one swift movement, the intruder falls to the ground. She quickly repositions her vulnerable stance, and stands beside the body, her right foot positioned right between his neck, and she pushes hard. The man squeals in pain, and attempts to escape, but she knows it's futile. The hold that she has on him is meant to completely render an opposing force useless.

She could have killed him right there and then, but a blood curdling scream breaks her focus. She looks to her left where the scream was emitted, and her heart stops.

Katie was lying face down on the ground, several men surrounding her limp body.

Without a second thought, Emily breaks into a full sprint toward her hurt, possibly dead twin. "KATIE!" She screams, as she gets closer. As she approaches, she sees Katie struggling to lift her head, her face sporting a deep red cut on her right cheek along with several other scratches. "Emily stop! Turn the fuck around and go!" Katie screeches, her voice laced in pain. The authority in her voice stops her in her tracks. Emily is breathing hard and she starts to tremble, dread creeping up her spine as she locks eyes with Katie.

Katie's eyes are full of pain and unshed tears. Katie would never cry. She was too strong for tears. But under all that, Emily sees determination, and pleading. Her eyes are pleading for Emily to run. Emily's heart tears and she grits her teeth once more to stop her own impending tears that threatened to fall down her face. Katie wouldn't dare tell her to leave without her. She just couldn't. She wouldn't. "Kati-," she begins but is interrupted.

"I promise I'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to us," she croaks out, pain evident in each syllable.

Before Emily could react, the man closest to Katie, lifts up his foot, and smashes his heavy leather boots on top of her head, effectively silencing her. Emily watches in horror as blood, Katie's blood, begins to pool around her head.

Emily's scream is deafening.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"For fuck's sake."

She winces as she rubs her left elbow, cursing under her breath as the red welts on her arm become more visible. She looks up at the tree from the ground where she was sitting, looking up at the branch that she had slipped off of only seconds ago.

She slowly gets up, cradling her still throbbing arm close to her chest. She wobbles around the tree trunk, peering up at the tree, wondering how she had managed to fall off. After a minute of observing, she realizes that there on the branch that she had slipped off of, was a crop of moss that she hadn't noticed before.

"God, Campbell, get it together. You're losing your touch," she mutters to herself, securing the pack that is strapped to her back more tightly.

Pack secured, Naomi stretches her arms out, grasping for the lowest branch of the tree. Hoisting herself up, she begins climbing back up to where she fell from.

After a couple of minutes of climbing, despite the heavy bruise that was slowly surfacing up her skin, Naomi effortlessly lifts herself up onto the branch, sitting close to the crop of moss.

She sits on the large branch with her left leg hanging off the side, and her right foot tucked underneath the back of her left knee. She unfastens the buckle of her pack that is tightly strapped to her chest, and heaves it to the front.

She unzips the pack and pulls out a ream of paper, tightly bound by a strip of leather. She shuffles through the pages and stops when she finds a blank space. Gripping the ream of paper on one hand, she digs through her pack once more and pulls out a rectangular wooden case. Popping the top of the case open, the hinges give a slight creak. Inside the case, there are multiple sticks of charcoal, all about the same size as a pencil. Looking through the lot, she selects the shortest piece of charcoal, pops the top back on the case, and throws it back in her pack. She poises her charcoal, examines the moss and its surroundings, and begins to sketch.

In just under a minute, Naomi had drawn the crop of moss down to every minute detail, plus the branch that it laid upon. She examines her work. "Another one for the book," she says to herself. Satisfied, she places her book back in its proper place in her back pack, straps it back on, and jumps onto the closest branch of the nearest tree.

Landing safely, Naomi proceeds to walk down the length of the branch. The branch that she is on is thick, sturdy, and is wrapped around the circumference of the trunk in a coil like manner that allows her to simply, walk back down to the ground.

She continues to walk at a more leisure pace, occasionally checking the small, rusted bronze compass she carries around her neck. It hung low on another strip of leather, reaching down just above her belly button.

Naomi touches her compass fondly, as she remembers when her mother had first given it to her.

* * *

><p>"Naomi, dear, stop fussing. It's only a scratch."<p>

8 year old Naomi whimpers, tears running down her face.

"But mama, it hurts still," she says quietly, looking down at the little red scratches on her elbow, that her mother is cleaning.

Gina finishes disinfecting, and applies her own makeshift plaster onto the scratches, placing a small kiss for good measure.

"There we are love, all done. Now was that so bad?"

Naomi looks at her new plaster, wipes her nose on her long sleeve, and smiles. "No mama. I guess it didn't really." She hops off of the tree branch, and throws her arms around her mother.

"Thank you," Naomi says, her voice slightly muffled, due to the fact that her face was buried in her mother's arms.

Gina looks lovingly down at her daughter, burying her own face in Naomi's hair. "You're always welcome, sweetie."

They stay that way for awhile, until Gina breaks the hug, placing her hands on her shoulder.

"Now tell me, Miss Campbell, how on earth did you manage to get lost again?" She asks her daughter, looking directly into her daughter's magnificent blue eyes.

Naomi shuffle her feet, looking anywhere but her mother's knowing eyes.

"I saw the group of squirrels again, up in the sycamore tree near the lake…and um. Well, I uh, just wanted to watch them play. And mama, out of nowhere a fox jumps up in the tree and started scaring them," Naomi says, her volume raising higher as her story went on, "I couldn't just let him be mean to them, so I chased him away. He ran so fast and so far mama; I couldn't tell where we were." She crosses her arms across her chest, huffing a little as she finishes her story.

"And that's when you fell off the tree?" Gina inquires.

Naomi looks up from her sulking, and looks into her mother's eyes. "I thought that maybe, if I got high enough, I could find my way home."

Gina gives her a reassuring smile, and reaches into her loose flowing shirt and pulls out a compass that hangs around her neck by a piece of leather. She pulls it up and over her head, and holds it out for Naomi to see. "Here you go my angel; I think you need this more than me."

Naomi looks at the compass in her mother's hands, surprised. "But, that's yours mama. It's your favorite," she exclaims, almost in awe that her mother would even suggest giving it to her.

Gina says nothing as she places her compass around her daughter's neck, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she did so.

"There we are. Fits like a glove, doesn't it Naomi. Now you'll always know your way back to me, and as long as you're by my side, I'll always be content wherever I am," Gina tells her, smiling.

Naomi looks down at her new possession, fiddling with the clasp that opens the old compass. It feels good around her neck, and it already made her feel safe. She beams up at her mother, and takes her hand, guiding her back to their home, compass in hand.

* * *

><p>Naomi stops walking, having reached her destination, and swiped some sweat off of her brow. She sighs as she looks at the amazingly clear lake in front of her. There was a slight breeze that seemed to carry the wonderful smell of clean water to her nostrils. She breathes it all in as she closes her eyes, reveling in the smell and feel that the lake always brought her.<p>

She walks around the lake, noticing that everything is where they should be, and not a rock out of place. Good, she thinks. After a bit of looking around, Naomi spots a bed of green grass, situated under a large spruce pine tree, and walks over to it. Once there, she unclasps the buckle of her pack, and lets it slide to the ground. She gives a sigh of contentment, her shoulders almost thanking her for releasing their heavy burden.

She plops down next to her pack and unzips a smaller pouch in the front and pulls out a small roll of gauze along with a small bottle of disinfectant. Taking the gauze, disinfectant, and her silver canteen with her, she heads to the lake. Once there, she immediately starts cleaning her left arm of all the dirt and blood it had collected since her fall, slightly wincing as she did so. When she felt it was thoroughly washed, she adds a drop of disinfectant, and wraps the gauze around her arm and elbow, moving it up and down to make sure it wouldn't leave her immobile. Satisfied, she grabs her canteen and fills it up to the brim with fresh lake water, while taking large gulps in between. Once full, she picks up her medical supplies and canteen, and heads back to the shade of the spruce pine.

After putting everything back in her pack, she uses it as a pillow, as she splays out under the cool shade. She lets her mind wander as she watches the sky peak through the branches of the tree, her eyes growing heavy, and her mind starts to reminisce on its own accord.

* * *

><p>"Mum?"<p>

"Mum?"

"MUM!"

Gina looks up from a pile of papers that she had stretched out on the ground.

"Yes, dear, what is it?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for the past 10 minutes you dozy cow," Naomi says exasperated, a hint of amusement in her voice, "I asked if I could help with anything."

"I'm sorry dear; I guess I've just been too caught up in these statistical charts. Nothing for you to worry about," she says with a smile. "Why don't you go and see what we can have for dinner tonight. Your choice love."

Naomi frowns. There was something that her mother wasn't telling her, but she pushes it aside. "Alright mum. I will. But don't come complaining to me when the food is shit. That's why YOU do the cooking."

"You'll do fine my love. I trust you not to kill us both with your cooking skills. Be careful out there."

"Mum, I'm 16, I'm more than capable of getting us dinner," Naomi teases. She grabs two hunting knives from their "weapons" bin, and begins to walk towards the door.

"Love, don't forget the book," Gina says from behind a piece of paper.

"Oh right, almost forgot." Naomi turns back around and grabs a ream of paper bound together by a piece of leather string. Can't forget this, she thinks to herself.

"Alright mum, I'm off. Be back in a bit," Naomi calls out behind her back.

"I love you sweetie, be careful out there," Gina responds.

"Love you too, mum."

Naomi shuts the door behind her, and begins walking. She let's herself think about her mother for the time being, seeing as her full concentration wasn't needed quite yet. Gina hasn't been acting like herself lately. Her usual carefree exuberance seemed almost dimmed out these past couple of weeks, and it was killing Naomi to not know. Her mother had always been honest with her about everything. They weren't just mother and daughter, they were partners. They were in this together. What could it be that she wasn't telling her, Naomi wonders.

She trusts Gina more than she trusts herself, so if there was something she wasn't telling her, then maybe it's for the better.

Naomi thinks back to the things that usually trouble Gina, and the only thing she could come up with was the usual battle; Proelio and the ongoing war due to the ongoing depletion of resources. It's the biggest and only troubles that Gina let's herself get worried over. Even before Naomi was born, Gina had already been planning out her and her baby's life without the addition of other communities.

She told Naomi stories all the time, about how she had already known about the shortage before anyone else bothered to view it as an actual threat to the land of Proelio. She says that, "Only blind, dimwitted bastards can't see the obvious threat that our land faces." She was right, of course. Before anyone else knew the wiser, Gina, then pregnant with Naomi, left civilization altogether, wanting to live in the forests of Proelio, before chaos would erupt. She was right, of course. They were safe there, away from the confusion, the fighting, the war. Gina made the forest her and Naomi's home. She built them a makeshift house that was hidden underneath one of the largest sequoia in the forest, which was conveniently near one of the lakes. They lived deep enough in the forest for Gina not to worry about anyone finding them. And she was right, of course. Throughout the years, she had learned the forest terrain, along with the fauna and flora, down to the smallest detail. After only ten years, she's managed to map out all of Proelio's forest, from the rivers, to the lakes, to each major tree, and even down to the major spots that certain animals lived. She kept these sketches of maps and land life in her own make shift notepad, that she herself made. When Naomi got older, she started teaching her as much as she could about the forests. She taught her how to sketch out the land to the smallest detail, just as she had been doing. Gina tells Naomi that the ream of paper bound by a leather strip, was their greatest weapon. Knowing that land better than anyone, was the biggest defense that they had on their side, and Naomi completely agrees. She's been drawing in the book for a long time now, ever since she learned how. Nowadays, Gina lets her draw almost everything. She tells her that she's a lot better at it than her at this point in time.

Naomi's flow of thought is suddenly interrupted by a movement from her peripheral. She crouches down behind some shrubbery and scans the area where she saw the movement. A small creature emerges from behind a small rock, followed by several others. Rabbits, Naomi thinks. That works.

She waits until they are close enough, and quietly and swiftly, grabs two of the closest ones by their hind legs, and cuts their throats. The others scamper away.

She finishes cleaning the nice fat rabbits, ties them onto a branch, and starts heading back.

As she gets closer to her home, she can't help but feel a prickle of foreboding in her deep within her heart. Suddenly frightened, she quickens her pace.

The prickle of foreboding that she feels is no longer just a prickle. By the time her home is in within her sight, she's panicking.

She kicks the door open with her foot, and rushes in.

Her body shuts down at the sight before her.

Gina Campbell, exactly where she left her, blood free falling from her throat.

* * *

><p>Naomi shivers at the memory. The raiders took everything from her that day. Her weapons, her home, her food…her mother.<p>

She clenches her fists tightly, as she always does when thinking about that night.

She's replayed it over and over again in her head, multiple times since, and each time she comes up with the same thought. It was her fault. She left her mother to defend for herself. Left her to fight the raiders alone. The invincible Gina Campbell's death was caused by her own daughter.

She's never thought otherwise.

Naomi's inner ranting is disturbed by a rustle in nearby. She's been around the animals of the forest for so long now, that she could immediately tell that it was no animal.

She could've just picked up her belongings and fled to a safer place, just in case it was a couple of raiders, but for reasons unknown to herself, she decided she wanted to stay and observe. She quickly puts on her pack, adjusting the tightness around her waist, and begins to climb the tree in which she had just been taking refuge under. She climbs quickly, and before she knows it, she's high enough in the tree to not be spotted, but low enough so that she could have a clear view of whomever it was that was in her forest.

Suddenly, from behind a cluster of trees, she sees someone, a small someone, stumble onto the clearing beside the lake. She squints her eyes to see get a better look, and notices that it's a female, and from the looks of things, she looked like she could be the same age as herself. More importantly, she looked like she'd just endured the most horrible of treatments. She watches as the girl continues to stumble, hand grasping at her sides, as if she was cradling a rib injury. At the sight of the water, the girl quickens her pace and drops to her knees, cupping her hands and dipping it into the water. Naomi continues to watch as the girl drinks and drinks. She must have been traveling for a long time without water, Naomi thinks to herself. Normally, when Naomi watched people, it would be so she could decide whether or not they carried something that would be of value to her, so that she could snatch whatever it was up for herself.

There was something about this girl that made Naomi not think of stealing from her.

It seems that the girl has had her fill of water, and she collapses right where she knelt. Naomi notices something else too. The redhead that was currently laying in a fetal position beside her lake, was sobbing uncontrollably.

Naomi is baffled at herself.

For reasons unknown to her once more, she felt sorry for her, and wished that she would stop crying.

There was something about the small redhead that made her feel remorse for someone else, and it scared the shit out of her.


	3. Chapter 3

**This one's a bit shorter than the other two, but I promise the next one will be a doozy.**

**Anyways, enjoy. x**

Chapter 3

She lies beside the lake for several minutes, with her tears having subsided considerably, she is left with numbness.

"Kati-," she whispers, her voice cracking from the strain she had been putting on her vocal chords. Her throat still feels raw, despite the cool refreshing water she had just drank moments ago.

She keeps her eyes closed as she lays, Katie's name passing her lips as air, chanting to herself.

* * *

><p>Emily had no idea where her excruciating two day trek away from Tectum had been leading her. She doesn't remember much of the events that unfolded after watching Katie's blood drench the ground around her mangled body. All she knew was that she ran as fast as her legs could take her, and her beaten body would allow. Everything in her mind at that point was too fresh, and she couldn't handle it. She ran away, eyes blurred with a never ending stream of tears, not noticing the landscape change around her. Nothing mattered, except for getting away; as far away as she could.<p>

She never stopped running, and before she knew it, her legs had finally given out, and she collapsed besides clumps of unfamiliar flora. Everything hurt; her legs quivered violently due to its exertion, and the spot where she was struck, was constantly shooting painful stabs throughout her body. None of the excruciating bodily harm that her body had endured does not hurt Emily more than what her heart is doing to her; letting her just feel everything that she is trying so hard to block out of her mind. There was nothing she could do but feel it.

The sound of splashing water made her sit up, her throat screaming for something to quench it. Spurred on by her thirst, Emily slowly get's up from where sat, and staggered past the clump of flora that she was sure was blocking her view of what her body was craving. Sure enough, a couple of feet behind the shrubbery, there lay the most beautiful body of water she had ever laid her eyes upon. Perhaps it was her need for the water itself, but she was sure that this particular lake was probably the most aesthetically pleasing thing she had seen in a long time. She had hurriedly stumbled to her new found oasis, fell to her knees and bent over, cupping her hands into the cool water, and greedily drank her fill. Even after she had her fill, she continued to drink, her body protesting the over load of water.

It was then that she collapsed once more.

She pulled her knees up to her body and buried the side of her face into the soft patch of grass. She felt an overwhelming urge to cry; and she did just that.

* * *

><p>Emily's eyes fly open upon hearing a noise somewhere above her. She sits up, a little too fast, as the side of her body shoots pain once more. Gritting her teeth, she allows herself to observe her surroundings, particularly the space where she is sure she heard movement only moments ago. She pays particular mind to a rather tall spruce tree that is only several feet away. She doesn't see anything, but she feels as though she is being watched. After a couple more minutes of looking up at the tree, she gives up.<p>

And now I'm hallucinating, she thinks to herself.

She was so wrapped up in trying to figure out if there was actually someone or something watching her, that she doesn't notice her shirt darkening, in the exact spot that was causing her so much physical pain.

She clutches her side, and feels that it is damp.

She lifts the side of her fitted black shirt, wincing slightly as parts of the cloth stuck to the affected skin, and sure enough, she sees that the bruise that she was expecting had turned into a flesh wound. It extended from the top of her black jeans, all the way up to the middle of her left rib. The surrounding areas were irritatingly red. She doesn't know much about what certain casualties' look like on human flesh, but she was sure that her flesh wound was infected. It was deep red, with accents of pale yellow, due to the pus that oozed from certain swollen areas.

"Shit," She exclaims to herself, letting her shirt fall back into its place over the wound. Emily worries, already thinking of ways that she could make do without chunks of flesh from the side of her body. She knows very little, if anything, about healing flesh wounds. She's never had to patch herself up, due to the fact that when she was with Calavent 3, the group had always had a medic assigned to each mission, during and after, so she never had to worry about having to know how mend herself.

The pain from the wound seems to double, as she attempts to stand up. Anytime she bends her torso in any way, a new wave of searing pain would strike her. She almost falls back down to the ground.

She somehow manages to keep herself on her feet, and with much uncertainty, starts taking small steps toward nothing in particular, trying to figure out how much movement she could do without collapsing.

How did I not feel this before, she thinks to herself. She wonders if maybe the water had not only quenched her burning thirst, but also awoken the full force of the pain that resided on her body.

She is carefully not to twist her body in ways that might cause her flesh wound to be touched. She doesn't know how it happens, but suddenly, the strongest shot of pain courses through her body, causing her to cry out in pain and double over.

Emily lays with her back on the ground, tears beginning to resurface, as she whimpers in pain. The pain is so strong, that she feels her mind becoming heavily clouded, as she begins to lose consciousness. "Don't," she says to herself, willing herself to stay awake.

The last thing she hears is the startling sound of a loud thud on the ground, very much near her own body, which is followed by a pair of legs coming into focus in front of her. She watches in alarm as she sees the pair of legs walk toward her.

She loses consciousness soon after.

* * *

><p>Naomi watches as the small redhead lifts her shirt, revealing the most infected flesh wound that she has ever seen. She finds herself wincing along with the girl, as she attempts to peel the cloth off of the parts that had stuck itself onto the fleshier parts of the wound.<p>

Fuck, that must hurt, she thinks to herself.

The redhead is now attempting to stand, and from where Naomi was watching, it seemed to be a great struggle for her to even stand, let alone stay on her feet.

For awhile, she seemed to be doing an alright job of staying upright, although it was evident that it each step pained her.

All of a sudden, she witnesses the redhead cry out in pain, as she collapses to the ground, directly onto where the flesh wound was located.

Her muscles jump out of her skin, almost as if they were willing her toward the semi-conscious girl on the ground. Naomi is torn between wanting to be hidden away and helping out the mysterious redhead. She thinks quickly, and finally deciding that the girl will fall unconscious soon anyway, which would not jeopardize her identity, she leaps down from the branch that she was situated, and continues to leap from branch to branch until she reaches the ground with a thud. The impact sends a tingle up her legs, and she mentally curses herself for skipping the last branch down.

She glances over at the girl laying a couple of feet away from her. Naomi can tell that she has startled her with her ever so graceful entrance. It doesn't matter at the moment; the redhead has fallen unconscious.

"Fucking hell," Naomi mutters to herself, mentally kicking herself once again for skipping the last branch, as she carefully approaches the body.

As she gets closer, Naomi can't help but fixate her gaze on the girl's face. She hears herself audibly gulp, her eyes slightly widening in awe.

She was breathtaking.

Under all the dirt, blood, and tears that caked the redheads face, Naomi couldn't help but feel that this complete stranger, possibly even an enemy, is one of the most beautiful things she has ever laid her eyes upon.

"Fucks sake, Campbell. What are you doing?"

Naomi scolds herself as she shakes her head in an attempt to clear the sudden materialization of unwarranted emotions.

Shaking her head once more, she kneels in front of the body, willing her mind to focus on the task at hand. With as much care as she could muster, she lifts the girl's shirt, the same way she had seen her do it earlier. Bloody hell, she thinks to herself. It looks so much worse up close. From the looks of things, Naomi estimates that the girl had probably procured this damage about two to three days ago. Blunt trauma, she concludes. This isn't going to be easy, she thinks, rubbing the sides of her temple with her palms as she closes her eyes.

"Can I help you with something?"

Her eyes fly open, as she jumps back, startled by the quiet croak of a voice that seemed to have been emitted by the body that she was just examining.

Fuck. The redhead had regained consciousness.

Unease fills Naomi's heart, as the girl who could barely keep awake, is looking straight into her eyes. Fucking great timing, she thinks, her eyes darting down to where the redhead's shirt had been lifted up by her own hands.

She groans inwardly. This doesn't look good.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Emily peers through her heavily clouded eyes, the pain on her side still throbbing, sending the neurotransmitters in her brain into a frenzy.

Her lack of concentration has her thinking that she is still asleep, and at the moment, she's having a very strange dream involving a blonde goddess of sorts.

Her goddess is leaning over her, fiddling with her bloody shirt, and Emily can't help but revel in the feeling of the blonde's feather soft touches.

A particularly painful shock through her system brings her back down to earth.

I'm not dreaming, she thinks to herself. Panic sets in, her body stiffening. Questions flood her mind; who is hovering over me, why haven't they killed me?

For reasons unknown to Emily, her panic began to ease away, as the figure above her continues their exploration of the expanse of her wound. An unfamiliar, unexpected calm cools her nerves, and she feels less threatened. She decides that it is safe to make her consciousness known, and she opens her eyes.

"Can I help you with something?" She croaks out.

She watches as the blonde falls backwards, startled by her sudden display of cognizance.

Oh.

Emily's eyes widen as she locks eyes with the stranger on the ground.

The blonde has the most stunning steel blue eyes the redhead has ever seen. She knows that she is unceremoniously staring, but she can't seem to tear her eyes away.

As she continues to gape, she notices the blonde's eyes flick down toward the direction of her injured side. Curious, she glances down as well and notices for the first time, that her shirt had been lifted up, showing the entire expanse of her flesh wound and a bit more.

With the energy she could muster, which wasn't much, Emily lifts her hand up to the hem of her shirt, and pulls it down once more.

Was she…examining my wound? Her thought process is interrupted with the sound of the blonde clearing her throat.

"I um, I was just um, looking at it," Naomi hurriedly mumbles toward the direction of the redhead. Why the fuck am I still here, and explaining myself of all things, she thinks to herself.

"Why?"

Naomi glances down at the sound of the throaty voice that was emitted from the smaller girl on the ground. Her fatigue is doing wonders to her voice, she thinks.

"I'm not sure," she replies slowly.

Silence fills the space between the two girls, both not knowing what to do next.

Emily clutches at her side as another wave of pain hits her, hard.

Alarmed, Naomi watches as the other girl writhes helplessly on the ground, her body contorting itself into a fetal position. Her heart clenches at the sounds of painful whimpering.

"Fuck," she mutters, running her fingers through her long blonde hair. I can't just let her die here, she thinks.

Without a second thought, Naomi approaches the girl. She crouches low, her knees pointing toward the girl.

"Let me help you," she says, her voice slightly wavering from uncertainty of the entire situation. Sure, she wasn't going to leave the girl dying by her lake, but the expeditious events that have happened in the past couple of hours perturbed her. There was as an unrelenting force deep within her subconscious that made her mind and body experience an involuntary need to help the mysterious redhead.

She waits for a reply, not wanting to help the girl without her consent.

Emily is surprised by the girl's offer, and is reluctant to abide to her request. There was no reason for her to trust the blonde, but it was either trust her or die where she lay.

She manages a small nod, as her mind clouds over once more.

Darkness ensues soon after.

Naomi notices the small nod from the smaller girl before she became unconscious for the second time since first seeing her.

Good enough, she thinks, as she places her left arm underneath the girls neck, cradling it close to her chest, hoping she stays unconscious long enough for her to get her to where she needed to be. Her right arm is placed in the crook of her knees, and with the gentlest strength that she could summon, she carefully lifts the girl off the ground. Naomi made sure to face the side of the flesh wound away from her body, not wanting to cause it any more damage than it already had already endured.

When she was sure that the girl was secure in her arms, she cautiously bounds into her forest, headed to where she knew would be a safe place to tend to the unconscious individual in her arms.

* * *

><p>Naomi's forearms are burning as beads of sweat begin to make its way to the surface of her skin. It wasn't because she was lacking in the strength category; far from it. She's carried much heavier things in her life, but this was different. The petite girl in that she was currently cradling in her arms wasn't large timber that she had to haul across the forest, or animals she's had to fend off.<p>

She's never had to endure the weight of a different human being, especially one that she wasn't trying to kill.

She continues to walk at a fast pace, hoping to reach her destination soon.

But then what?

Naomi has no idea what she was going to do once she helped patch up the red head. She hasn't thought that far ahead yet. Was she supposed to just let her on her merry way?

She shakes her head in frustration. Nothing is making sense to her.

After a long bout of walking, she finally stops, just in front of an extremely tall sequoia tree. The roots were massive, stretching far above her head, the multitude of giant roots intertwining together. She has finally reached home, and thank goodness, she thinks. She isn't sure how much longer she could carry the girl.

Hoisting the weight of the red head up a bit more, Naomi heads into her makeshift home, ducking underneath the mass of roots, walking deep into the center of the tree.

Once situated where she needed to be, she gently lowers the girl onto the soft ground.

Naomi stands up, groaning as she stretches out her back, rubbing her neck.

She takes off her pack, her shoulders screaming at her in disapproval of the treatment she had put on them, as she sits next to the girl.

I need to take care of her wound before she wakes up, she thinks. Her unconsciousness will work as a great anesthesia.

She sighs, rubbing her eyes with her palms.

How the fuck did I just get so tired all of a sudden?

She lies beside the small girl on the ground, her eyes slowly getting heavier with each breath.

I'll just take a five minute break, and then I'll patch her up as soon as I can, she thinks to herself.

With that, she lets her eyes close, her breathing becomes even, and she rests.

* * *

><p>Emily wakes up with a start, panic and pain having shaken her body awake. Her eyes search her surroundings frantically, not remembering what had taken place in the past couple of hours.<p>

How long have I been out, she thinks, trying hard to remember where and when she had fallen unconscious.

She takes in several deep gulps of air, her side still throbbing with pain. Emily tries her best to survey her surroundings from the laying positing she was currently in.

Where am I?

From the looks of things, with the multitude of roots and dirt surrounding her, she concludes that she must somehow be underground. All around her lay roots of different sizes, crisscrossing each other, forming some sort of barricade from whatever was outside, acting as walls and a ceiling.

Someone lives here.

The thought scares her, as she examines different vials of what she imagines as flora, which are organized in neat rows on particular roots that acted as shelves of sorts. There were so many different specimens, in so many different vials and containers, reminding her somewhat of an underground laboratory.

But for what?

Emily is so caught up in her examination of the room that held her, that she doesn't notice the body that lay next to her, until said body emits a small groan.

"Shit!" she exclaims, instinctively moves away from the unknown body. She covers her mouth with her hand, the expletives that had risen from her throat, threatened to rise several octaves.

What the actual fuck?

More panic ensues as she watches the stranger rouse awake.

Naomi blinks her eyes several times, groaning once more.

I guess my cat nap turned into an all out sleep sessions, she thinks to herself, hoisting her torso up into a sitting position.

She stays in a sitting position, rubbing her neck and temples, her eyes kept closed.

As Naomi opens her eyes, her eyes drift to the empty space beside her.

Empty space.

She panics, but not for too long, as she scans the room and sees that the redhead is in a semi sitting position in the far end of the room. Their eyes lock, and before Naomi has a chance to open her mouth, Emily beats her to it.

"Who the fuck are you, and where the fuck have you taken me?" She spits out, her voice shaking with uncertainty. Emily was never really good at confrontation; that had always been Katie's forte'.

Naomi raises her eyebrow, frustration sparking in her body.

Christ, she's already forgotten.

"You asked me to help you," she says simply, trying hard to keep her voice calm, as to not scare the girl.

"What? Why?"

Naomi directs a small nod toward the girls injured side. Through all the confusion, Emily had almost forgotten that she was indeed, in need of medical assistance.

"Why would you help me? What is it to you?" she whispers, her eyes drifting up to meet the blonde's gaze.

"I don't know," Naomi answers truthfully. "Can you just let me, please?"

Emily knows that, in situations such as these, she should never trust a complete stranger. Hell, she should never trust anybody that wasn't her twin sister.

The thought of Katie sends a flood of emotions to her heart. Katie, she thinks sadly, her eyes lowering it's gaze from the blonde's blue eyes.

Emily was too caught up in the sudden sadness that had hit her, that she doesn't notice that the blonde had gotten up and was currently rummaging through a rather large back pack.

Naomi extracts several unmarked bottles of different colored liquids, along with pack her very own home made plaster. She gathers the supplies and approaches the redhead in the corner.

She crouches down to the redhead's level, setting the supplies neatly beside her.

"Let me?" She asks, holding out a cloth, her eyes imploring.

Emily looks at the blonde carefully, particularly at her eyes. Her combative training and all around life experiences are telling her no, but her aching body is telling her otherwise. There was also something else. Something deep within her, perhaps her subconscious, was telling her that it was okay. That she could trust the mysterious blonde.

"Okay," she whispers, her voice barely audible.

Naomi nods, and motions for the girl to lie down on the ground.

* * *

><p>Emily grits her teeth, her hands clenching and unclenching above her head. Unshed tears are forming in her optics from the pain caused by a clear liquid that her mysterious good Samaritan was currently applying directly onto her flesh wound. As each drop hits the infected area of her body, it administers the most ungodly amount of pain. She can feel the medicine almost sizzling, and she swears that at times, she can smell her flesh slowly burning.<p>

God, it's like she's trying to kill me, she thinks to herself, the pain causing her to flutter in and out of consciousness.

"Here, bite on this." Naomi hands the girl a folded piece of cloth.

Emily looks up, her vision slightly blurred, and attempts to reach for the offering. No good, she thinks, as her arms fail her.

"Here, hang on," Naomi instructs, as she brings the cloth closer to the redhead's mouth. Emily opens her mouth to allow her to place it between her teeth.

After making sure that the cloth was firmly in place, Naomi continues applying the necessary medicines that she herself had concocted. She knew she could fix her up, but what concerned her was the amount of pain that the redhead could endure. She knew from firsthand experience that all of the medication that she was applying all worked wonderfully, but for a small price; it hurt like hell. She was surprised that the girl has managed to keep awake through the process. She's concentrating so hard on the task at hand, that she barely hears the girl speak.

"Who are you?"

"You're supposed to keep the cloth in your mouth," Naomi says, not looking up from what she was doing.

Emily sighs, "I think it will be better if I talk. Keeps me distracted, you know?" Her throat was still extremely raw, so her voice came out in small hiccups. Not that it would matter, she thinks. My voice sounds like this anyways.

"Look, I think its better if we didn-," Naomi begins, but is cut off.

"My name's Emily."

Naomi sighs and looks up at the girl. "Look, Emily, let's just pretend that the formalities were already dealt with, yeah?"

"Please, can you just, tell me your name? It will be a lot more comforting if I knew the name of the stranger that's putting searing hot acid onto my flesh," Emily retorts.

Naomi can't help but let a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth.

"It's not acid, Emily. It's herbal medicine, made from the wonderful forest in which we reside."

After several moments of deafening silence, with only the sounds of the quiet sizzling flesh, Emily slowly sits up.

"Don't move," Naomi commands, pushing the girl lightly on her shoulders in an attempt to keep her in a laying position.

"So are you going to tell me?"

"If we must converse, why don't you just tell me how you got yourself into such a predicament, and how you ended up in my forest of all places," Naomi says, "I would feel a lot better if I knew that the person I'm trying to patch up isn't going to end up killing me once I'm done."

It was a dry attempt at humor that scared the blonde more than she could let on. Way to go Campbell. Just tell your possible future killer that you know of her plans.

"How do I know you're not going to kill ME?" Emily responds quietly.

"Emily, if my intentions involved killing you in some way, I could've done so when I found you. And, I wouldn't be wasting my time and supplies on you." Naomi wasn't sure when her mouth became such a waterfall of truths. She mentally curses herself, hating that a complete stranger could make her lose her brain to mouth filter that she had spent years building up.

Apparently, Emily was surprised as well, for she stayed silent for a couple of minutes before responding.

"I escaped from my civilization," she begins slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I got this," she points to her flesh wound, "from a bastard who tried to stop me."

Emily stops for a second, the unshed tears she had been holding from the pain, attempted escape once more.

And Katie, she thinks. She closes her eyes as a flood of fresh emotions sweeps through her heart.

Naomi watches Emily try her best to keep her tears at bay, her body trembling underneath her hands. Not wanting to push the matter, she continues her work silently, giving Emily some time to think to herself.

She finishes up the application of medicines, and preps the plaster for placement. I'm going to need more plaster, she thinks.

She gets up from and walks toward her pack that she had left in the middle of the room. She rummages through it once more until she procures a larger plaster. She then heads back to where her patient lay.

All of a sudden, Naomi's sensitive ears pick up a noise that forces her to a halt.

There it is again, she thinks. She stands there for several more seconds, until she hears the sounds once more. Naomi's blood runs cold and her mind begins to race. Gunshots, she confirms.

Shit.

"What's wrong?" Emily asks, noticing the blonde's abrupt stop.

Naomi holds up her finger, signaling her to be silent, which Emily quickly concedes.

Their coming closer, she thinks, her heart jumping to her throat. The loudest gunshot is fired, and she's sure that it was only about 100 meters away from where they were.

Emily hears that gunshot as well, as she attempts to pull herself up, the combative part of her brain awakening her muscles.

"Stay there," Naomi says sternly, as she grabs her pack and heads toward Emily.

Out of nowhere, another gunshot is fired, so loud that surely it was just outside.

The shot is followed by an earsplitting screech of a voice that stops both Naomi and Emily's hearts.

"COOK!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, author's note here. **

**School has started up, so I won't be able to spit out chapters as frequently, but I will try my best. **

**Inspire me?**

**Anyways, Skins isn't mine.**

**Enjoy. x**

Chapter 5

Emily's muscles stiffen at the sound of the shrieking voice that emanated from the outside of her current safe haven; if she could even call it that.

Out of pure instinct, she lifts herself from her sitting place, her body readily poising itself in a defensive mode.

"Emily, stay there," Naomi commands, her eyes never leaving the rifle she was currently prepping.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell me what to do," Emily says, quietly fuming. She makes her way towards the blonde.

Naomi doesn't look up. Her voice is calm as she speaks.

"You'll be more of a hassle to me if you try to help, so just stay here."

"Don't…just stop assuming things about me. You don't know what I'm capable of," the redhead states, conviction in her voice.

Naomi finishes fastening her hunting knife in the built in holster of her leather boots, and swings her rifle onto her shoulder. She looks up at the girl and sighs.

"You're right. I don't know what you're capable of, but I do know that with that gaping infected flesh wound on your side, whatever abilities you hold are weakened."

She says this with such a finalized authority, that Emily is left speechless.

She's right, Emily thinks, her shoulders sinking.

"Here, in case you need it." Naomi bends over and begins to extract her hunting knife from her boot, but is interrupted.

"I won't need it."

Naomi raises her eyebrow.

"You sure?"

Emily nods.

"Whatever," Naomi mutters as she places the weapon back into its holster. "Just try not to get killed."

And with that, Naomi walks toward what Emily assumes is the direction of the exit.

Emily waits until the blonde hair disappears into the clutter of roots.

"Like hell I'm staying in here," she mutters to herself.

She looks around and spots the abandoned plaster on the ground. She heads toward it, lifting her shirt up on the way. Once she had the covering in hand, she gently places it atop her wound. She raises her eyebrows as a pleasant feeling spreads through the wound. That's new, she thinks as she places her shirt back into place.

Emily stretches out her body, and finds that her side no longer hurts. In fact, the plaster has given her a new bout of revitalizing energy. She feels better than ever.

Satisfied, she begins to follow the same trail that the blonde trekked only moments ago.

She's getting my help whether she likes it or not, Emily thinks.

* * *

><p>Naomi navigates through the trees roots, her heart pounding through her chest.<p>

She didn't want to show any panic, to Emily of even to herself, but she was terrified.

The gunshots could only be one thing; raiders in her forest. She hoped to god she was wrong, that the gunshots only belonged to some unlucky passersby.

If it happened to be that that the gunshots and voices belonged to raiders, she shakes her head, clutching her rifle strap tighter. She gives herself a slight slap on the face and tries focusing on the task ahead. Her mind drifts back to the injured girl back in her home.

She wonders why she told Emily not to get killed. Having said it made it seem like she cared. She hadn't meant to show and kind of affection, cryptic or not.

I just don't want all my hard work and medication to go to waste, she convinces herself, as she hoists herself up onto the forest clearing.

As soon as her feet touch ground, she crouches low, her eyes darting left to right. Although she sees nothing, her ears pick up human voices, about two hundred yards to her left.

Naomi maneuvers through the surrounding flora, being careful not to make any kind of noise. She stops behind a tall boulder, remembering that her hair isn't the most inconspicuous color, places the hood of her jacket over her head.

She traverses through a couple of more feet of forest floor, the voices growing louder as she nears her destination. Ahead of her, she spots two shadowy figures, stood between a crop of white birch.

It's when she crouches low behind some thick shrubbery, that she is able to make out what the voices are saying.

"I, I don't know what to do with it, Cook. It looks really really bad. What if we can't fix him? What if he dies? The likely hood of his death right now is a lot higher than his survival. We don't have any of the necessary equipment or medication to fi-."

"JAY! Shut the fuck up will yah? Let me fuckin' think, yeah?"

Naomi confirms that there are two separate voices, each belonging to a male. She glances at the ground under their feet, and that's when she notices that they are hovering over a shaking body. Another male, she thinks.

The body on the ground is struggling to open his mouth.

"Save your energy, Freds mate. We'll fix ye right up, alright?"

Naomi raises her rifle up to her shoulder, and aims for the taller man with short hair. He seemed to be the stronger one between the three. As she is about to pull the trigger, she feel a hand on her shoulder.

She's so startled that she is using all of her power not to scream in alarm. She quickly turns around, her rifle following suit. The blonde finds herself staring straight into an equally startled Emily, her weapon pointing straight at her throat.

"Sorry, sorry, I-I didn't mean to startle you," Emily whispers frantically. Naomi looks at her with much agitation on her face.

"Emily, what the fuck are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay behind," the blonde whispers back, her voice impetuously hushed. Naomi realizes that she hadn't even sensed Emily come up behind her, let alone follow her the entire time without being noticed. What is with this girl, she thinks to herself.

"Don't shoot them yet," Emily whispers back, ignoring the blonde's question.

"Why the fuck not?"

Emily sighs.

"They could be helpful later on, you know, to help us."

Naomi looks at her, a bit of bewilderment gracing her features.

"What, 'Us' are you talking about, exactly? "

The redhead shakes her head, as she looks down to the floor.

"Just, please?"

Naomi can tell that Emily is keeping something from her, and it makes her angry. She's angrier at herself for following along, regardless of what her gut instinct is telling her.

"If they fucking try to kill us, once, then all bets are off, got that?"

Emily notices her use of the word 'us' and can't help but smile. She's always been fond of alliances and for the time being, she needed someone on her side, and the blonde was turning out to be utterly helpful.

"Deal," Emily says, extending her hand to the blonde.

Naomi glances down at her hand, doesn't bother acknowledging it, and turns back to the men in front of them.

It seems as though the men haven't done much since she's torn her attention away, the two men having crouched lower to the injured man on the ground.

Emily kneels beside the blonde, also observing the men.

"I have an idea," she whispers, not turning away from the scene in front of her.

"Which is?"

"You should offer to heal their friend on the ground."

"And why would I do that?"

"To gain their trust, obviously."

"I don't need their stamp of approval."

"Yes, WE do. So that they won't try and kill us."

"I still have not heard the part where all of this is beneficial to us."

"Trust me."

"I have no reason to."

She's right, of course, Emily thinks. She has no reason to trust me and I have no reason to trust her. But does there have to be reasons?

"There's really no time to argue," Emily whispers back, pointing toward the men who have gotten back up to their feet, attempting to lift the injured man onto their shoulders.

"Well then, after you. Let's see your brilliant, thoroughly thought out plan in action," Naomi says, gesturing for Emily to act.

"Fine, just follow my lead."

And with that, Emily bounds out of their hiding place and into the clearing.

Naomi is stunned at first, but follows suit.

Everything happens so quickly, Emily moving at lightning speed, and before she even reaches the men, the redhead has the taller of the two able bodies, face on the ground, her knee digging into his back while holding both his wrists in her hands.

The man with the curly hair is still carrying the injured body on his shoulders, his face completely stunned, his body frozen in fear.

"Get off me, what the fuck!" The man is thrashing underneath Emily's hold, his voice muffled by the ground.

"Stop struggling."

The man continues to struggle regardless.

Emily sighs and takes her knee off of his back, and instead, places her hands on his shoulders, giving them a hard squeeze.

The man on ground stops moving, and when he speaks, his voice trembles.

"O-okay, okay. St-stop…pl-pl-ease."

Naomi watches the scene unfold before her in awe. She's definitely done this before, she thinks to herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the other man with curly hair, retracting a knife out of his belt loop. She immediately points her gun at him, which causes him to drop his knife and put his hand out in surrender.

"Boys, we're not here to kill you. In fact, I have a proposition for you lot," Emily says, confidence build up around her voice.

"Like hell you do," the taller boy spits out.

"Your friend there, he's dying, is he not? My friend here," she points to Naomi, "can fix him up. Unless, you don't want her to."

The boys features soften and he looks toward the unconscious man.

"What's it to yah?"

"I'll explain to you later, because right now, I'm thinking your friend here is the main priority at the moment. Your friend's life in exchange for a favor. Do we have a deal?"

It's then that the other man speaks up.

"Cook, we don't have a choice. Freds, he's fighting right now, and I'm not sure how much longer he has."

So this Cook fellow is the leader, Naomi thinks to herself. Interesting.

"As long as that little favor of yours doesn't involve death for me or my boys, then you've got yourself a deal, Red."

Emily looks him square in the eye. "I can't promise that."

What are you planning, Emily, Naomi thinks. She hates that she's going along with a plan that she has no idea about, with a girl she's barely met and knows nothing about, and to top it all off, her gut instinct seems to be going along with all of this. What is with this girl, she thinks again. Her instinct has never failed her, and she'd be damned if she stops following it now, even if it meant being out of the know.

The guy named Cook lets out a big sigh, and runs his hand through his short sandy hair. Worry and different conflicting emotions run through his face.

"Fine. You've got yourself a deal, Red. Now fix my friend," he says, his voice strong despite the evident concerns on his face.

"Thank you, Cook," Emily says, extending her hand out to the man.

Cook eventually accepts it, giving the girl a firm shake.

"Right well, let's get started."

* * *

><p>Naomi carefully observes the bullets that were lodged deep within the man named Freddie. He had three bullets in him, one on his abdomen, the other on his shoulder, and the last, and most tricky, was the one that was dangerously close to his heart.<p>

She wipes her brow, as she uncorks a vial of medicine that she had gone back and retrieved from her arsenal, along with some other essentials. It's hard for her to focus at the task at hand because she was still uncertain about what she was doing.

Why am I suddenly fixing up a bunch of random strangers? Why did I agree to go along with Emily's plan when I have no idea what her plan is in the first place? What kind of favor is she going to ask from the boys? Why haven't I killed them all and go on with my life? These questions are continuously plaguing her mind, and she has no answer for any of them.

She tries and focus all of her attention to mending Freddie once more.

"So who are you guys?" Emily's question snaps her out of her reverie.

"Well, you see we're r-," the curly haired boy named Jeremiah begins, but is cut off by Cook.

"We're just a couple of guys who have gotten ourselves into a spot of trouble, that's all."

"What kind of trouble, exactly?" Emily interrogates.

"Just some trouble back in our old community."

"I see."

Emily looks as if she's debating with herself, and Naomi can practically see the cogs turning in her head.

"Has your community fallen?" She asks with much trepidation, as if she herself were dreading the answer. Naomi gives a quick glance toward Cook and sees that he's rubbing his eyes.

"Yes."

"I see."

At this point in time, the blonde has managed to extract the two bullets that were lodged into the non problematic areas of his body. Now the hard part, she thinks, as she prepares to tackle the bullet that was imbedded so close to his heart, that she wasn't sure if she could properly remove it without causing more damage.

The curly head boy speaks up.

"You see, I've been studying the pattern of community alliances that have been failing these past couple of years, and it was my idea to leave. According to my studies, at the rate that the surrounding communities are failing, it was inevitable for ours to fall. Plus, considering our job description, we would be first to go, seeing as-."

"What exactly was your job," Naomi interrupts. Her suspicions were being confirmed, and she just needed to hear him say it.

"Jay, don-," Cook begins, but it's too late.

"Our job entails going into neighboring forests to hunt for individuals who don't belong to communities."

"You guys are raiders then."

Naomi doesn't question it; just merely states. Her eyes are hidden in the shadow of her long bangs, giving her face an almost eerie calm.

Emily notices that the blonde's breathing has changed, and watches as she clenches and unclenches her hands on her rifle, and also notices a subtle shaking.

Fuck.

Before the redhead could react, Naomi has already raised her weapon, pointing the barrel directly toward the sandy haired boy's heart.

"Hang on, wha-what yah doin'?" Cook asks, his voice rising a couple of octaves louder, panic setting in.

Naomi closes her eyes, the boy's pleading falling on deaf ears, and pulls the cold trigger.

The sound of the gun shot rips through the air.


	6. Chapter 6

**It's been a long time, kids. I hope the wait is worth it.**

**Skins isn't mine.**

Chapter 6

The current dream like state that Naomi is in is beginning to fade, as she feels her muscles twitch in response to a gentle caress on her arm. The touch is soft and warm, and it almost brings her back into the comforting haze that is enveloping her mind and body.

"Hey."

The floating sensation stops immediately as the voice brings her crashing back down to reality, or what her mind is conceiving to be reality.

"It's alright; everything is going to be alright."

The familiar huskiness of the vocalization soothes her nerves, and she feels her heart beat begin to settle into a normal pace. She knows that if her entire being wasn't floating on cloud nine at the moment, then she would probably be panicking at the fact that she has no earthly idea what is going on.

_Where am I? What happened? Who are you?_

"It's me, Emily."

Oh.

She could have sworn that she thought those questions in her head, but apparently not. As soon as her brain processes the voice's answer, a waterfall of enlightenment begins to rush through her mentality.

_Emily. Girl I saved. Raiders? Where? Going to kill us. Wait, us? I shot one of the raiders. Right?_

The sudden outpour of memory dispatches a shot of pain through her head, as she quickly sits up from her laying position. Her hands shoot up to her head, her fingers threading through her hair as she clutches hard.

_Why does it hurt to remember?_

"Fuck," she curses aloud, her eyes shut tightly against the onslaught of pain.

"Just breathe."

Naomi feels the warm breath that was emitted along with the voice close to her ear, the soft caress continuing to pass up and down her arm.

She slowly opens her eyes, easing the grip she had in her hair, and looks toward the direction of Emily.

With a quick survey of her surroundings, she finds that she is settled on the dirt floor of her home, the exact place that she had placed the redhead for mending. The redhead in question was sitting beside where she laid, her hand on her arm. So that was the touch, she thinks to herself.

"What's happened, Emily?" she asks, her voice giving a slight quiver in the beginning from the confusion that was causing a rampage in her mind.

"Look, I-I'm really sorry. I, um, I couldn't let you kill Cook. And I didn't know what else to do…how to stop you," Emily begins, stuttering slightly, as she tries to figure out the best way to explain to her companion the happenings that occurred in the past couple of hours.

"Where are they?" the blonde questions.

Emily sighs, running her hand through her hair.

"Can you let me explain everything, before you get angry, please?"

"Emily, where are the raiders?" Naomi's voice is getting more serious each second and Emily begins to worry.

"Just, please. I promise, there are reasons for my actions, and I promise to tell you everything. I owe you that much."

"Is this story going to tell me where those fucking raiders are? "

Emily exhales the breath that she has been holding.

"Look, before you shot at Cook, I managed to get to you first. I applied some force on some of the specific pressure points at the base of your neck, which caused you to fall unconscious."

_So that's why I was floating. _

"Emily, why would you do that?" Naomi asks carefully. She's tired of not knowing what was going on, especially since her own livelihood was a major part of it.

"I'll start from the beginning."

"Please."

Emily takes a deep breath and begins.

"When you found me by the lake, I had just escaped from a community called Tectum. The bruising, the injuries, they were all acquired during my escape. I wasn't alone. My sister, twin sister, Katie," Emily's voice breaks a little bit while saying Katie's name, "sh-she was stopped. They stomped her head into the ground."

A few tears escape her eyes.

With this, she looks away from the blondes imploring, incisive gaze. Naomi feels a pang of remorse for the redhead. She knows how it feels to lose someone so close. She has so many questions to ask, and since she has never spoken to anyone since her late mother, she sees this as her chance to have some light shed onto some of her inquiries.

"Emily, why wer-."

"Why were we escaping?"

Naomi nods.

"You must know about the faltering communities, and the failing alliances, right?"

Naomi nods once more.

"Once Katie and I caught on to what was happening, we knew that we were in danger of being amongst the first few people to, to be rid of."

"And why is that?"

"We were a threat."

From there, Emily begins to explain what she and Katie were capable of; from their stealth, their extreme skill in hand to hand combat, to the extremities of their twin intuition.

As Naomi listens, things are beginning to become clearer to her.

_That's why I didn't sense her following me into the forest, and how she took down two male raiders in a blink of an eye. Impressive._

"I see, "she says, nodding her head. At least that much made sense.

The blonde clears her scratchy throat, wincing as dry air passes through her equally dry airways.

"Hang on," Emily says, as she gets up to her feet. Naomi watches as she walks toward a fairly large root, and that's when she notices her own canteen perched on top. Emily grabs the canteen and makes her way back to the blonde.

"Here, I thought you might need this," she says, handing her the flask.

Naomi reaches out her hand to accept the water, her throat screaming for her to quench it. She takes large gulps at a time, her eyes closed as she lets the feel of the refreshing cold water run through her body.

She wipes her mouth on the sleeve of her jacket, and hands the container back to the redhead.

"Thank you," she says quietly, truly thankful for the liquid. "The water is cold. Did you go back to the lake to refill it?"

"You're welcome, and yes. It was the least I could do for knocking you out," Emily says, glad that they were still getting on. Well, getting on in their own way.

After a few moments of silence, Naomi speaks up.

"So, how do the raiders come into the story?" Naomi is extremely curious as to what Emily was planning. A large part of her is itching to find out where they were and blow their brains off. She has no patience or remorse for raiders. To her, they were pure scum.

"Look, I know raiders don't exactly have the best reputations, but I need them to be alive. I like to think that I have a knack for reading people, and these men, I feel like I can trust them. That they might be the only ones that I'll come across, aside from you, that I'll be able to trust."

Naomi's head is reeling with thoughts, Emily's words quickly processing in her head.

_She trusts me? She trusts the raiders? How? How can she be so sure? There should be absolutely no reason to trust anybody in these forests. Especially raiders. Oh shut up, you know a part of you trusts her as well. But why? Nothing is making sense anymore. _

"Emily, why do you need to trust them? Why do you trust me?" She asks, almost hoping that the redhead that she had just met could shed some light to what she was also feeling. This trust that was made between them didn't make sense to her, whatsoever, from her part or Emily's part. _Since when did it become so easy to put your trust in someone?_

"You helped me when you didn't need to. That, to me, is enough of a reason to trust you in my book," Emily answers. She knew that she wasn't being completely honest. Yes, the fact that the blonde had mended her wound, instead of killing her or leaving her to die, was the main reason for her trust. But there was something else. Something that she had no control over and wasn't even sure what it was. All she knows is that, she could trust the blonde, reasonably or not. To her, not everything had to have a reason, though it would probably give her a better sense of comfort if there was.

Naomi nods. Even though Emily's explanation is making some sense, there are still huge gaping holes of the unknown, lodged into both of their reasoning's.

"And what of the raiders?"

Emily sighs as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I need them to help me break back into Tectum."

Naomi stares blankly at the redheads soft brown eyes.

"Why would you want to do that? You barely got out of there alive, did you not?

"I think Katie is still alive."

Oh.

Naomi is at a loss for words. She did know that she had to approach this statement cautiously.

"How do you know?"

"I just do. I-I can feel her. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I just know she's still alive. She promised me that she wouldn't let anything happen to us. Sh-she wouldn't say that if she didn't mean it."

At this point, the redhead's attempts to keep her tears at bay are futile, as tears stream down her face.

"She-she has to be alive," she whispers, more to herself than the blonde.

Naomi shifts uncomfortably on the floor. She was never good with dealing with her own emotions, let alone someone else's, but she hates to see the redhead cry. God knows why I actually give a damn, she thinks. She does the first thing that comes to mind, and places her hand on the redhead's. Emily looks down the hand covering her own. A barely visible smile comes and goes from her face.

Seconds go by as Naomi let's Emily have a moment before continuing. When she sees that Emily is ready, she opens her mouth to ask a question, but Emily beats her to it.

"Look I know this whole situation is mental. I'm asking so much of you and we've only known each other for several hours. But please, I'm asking you, don't kill them just yet. They're hiding out in the woods, waiting for me to talk to you. I've briefed them as well, and they've agreed. I know that your knowledge of these forests is unparalleled, and I was hoping, that perhaps, you could accompany us as well. I guess, what I'm trying to ask is, will you help me?

Upon hearing the redhead's request, Naomi's mind starts to reel with possible outcomes.

Emily looks at the blonde's steel blue eyes, trying her best to convey her desperation through her own deep brown eyes. She could practically see the cogs turning in her head as she thought.

_Please say yes._

The cogs in Naomi's head are indeed turning. In fact, they were turning so fast that she half expected for them to break. She's surprised that that the first answer that her mind could think of is 'yes'.

_Campbell, what the hell are you thinking? This has to be the most imprudent thing you've ever done, thinking of saying yes to a mission that will surely result in your own fucking death. Why are you acting so daft? Where the hell are your better senses? You're going to fucking regret this._

The mini rally in her head isn't doing her any good, and before she could stop herself, her initial conclusion has already made its way to her vocal chords.

"I'll help."

Both girls are surprised by the answer that was finally uttered. Emily blinks several times, as she surveys the girl's eyes.

_She's being serious. _

"But there are some conditions."

Here it comes, Emily thinks. She was expecting some form of terms of agreement with the girl. She would be more surprised if the blonde left it as is.

"You can't keep me in the dark about anything that concerns this mission. No lies, no keeping things from me, and definitely no telling the boys something before me. This concerns my life, so I have the right to know what's going on at all time, got that?"

"Done."

"Also, if I see that the raiders are thinking or doing something that I don't agree with, I'm killing them all. No ifs, ands, or buts, Emily."

"Only if necessary," Emily replies.

"Deal."

Both girls sit there for awhile longer, still letting their minds wrap around what just happened. Emily is in complete shock that the blonde has decided to help her. She expected a lot more begging and convincing on her end. Naomi is in equal shock that she has agreed to a death mission. What is it about this girl, she thinks to herself.

Suddenly, Naomi remembers something.

"What of Freddie's condition? I never retrieved that third bullet."

"He's holding up for the time being, but we need to get back to him as soon as possible. He still needs a lot of mending."

Great, more mending, Naomi thinks to herself. An extremely large part of her had hoped that Freddie had just died. It would have been one less raider to worry her mind.

"Let's get to it then," she says, as she pushes herself off the ground. She dusts off the dirt that clung to her clothing, and looks around for her pack and weapon. She spots them both leaned up against the furthest root from where she had lay, and heads toward them. After securing her pack and rifle, she turns to face the redhead.

"My name is Naomi, by the way."

With that, she saunters toward the exit of her home.

Emily is taken aback by the blonde. Telling her what her name was shows a lot of trust in their alliance to the redhead. As the shock of the girls confession wears away, Emily finally moves from the spot that she stood, and calls out to the girl.

"Naomi, hang on. Do you even know which way you're going? I should lead because I know where the men are."

Naomi stops her trek, turns around, a smug smirk gracing her features. Without uttering a word, she raises an eyebrow, in an almost challenging manner. She turns back around and continues walking.

"Just try and stay close," she says over her should without breaking her pace.

Emily rolls her eyes and follows suit.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey there kids. This chapter is long overdue, and I apologize for that. Uni, work, and art show shenanigans are keeping me from writing…and laziness, but that's always a given with me.**

**But anyways, I'll get right to it.**

**Skins isn't mine.**

Chapter 7

Naomi groans, her frustration with the weather heightens with each step she takes. The sun beats down on her relentlessly, as her white top begins to cling to her back, due to the sweat that had begun to collect there earlier. She exhales loudly, as she shifts the pack on her back once more, hoisting it up a bit higher and more secure on her shoulders.

"Ya need a hand, Blondie?"

The boy that has been walking in front of her turns around and begins to walk backwards. With his hands in the pocket of his tattered and faded black jeans, as he gives the struggling blonde a questioning look.

She doesn't acknowledge the offer as she continues to trudge on; eyes firmly planted on the path past the boys shoulders.

"Whatever."

He turns back around without missing a step.

Naomi scowls at him, gripping the strap of her rifle that rests on her shoulders a little bit tighter. "Tosser," she mutters under her breath.

Emily begins walking beside her, and having witnessed the exchange, decides to have a word with the irate blonde.

"Naomi, he's just offering to carry your heavy pack. And by the all the groaning you've been doing, it sounds like you could use some help," the redhead says quietly but firmly. She wasn't sure how far she could go with Naomi yet, whether or not the blonde would take offense to her words, so she treads carefully.

Naomi glances at the girl walking beside her, and sees that Emily is also suffering from the heat of the sun, evident by the way her long bangs are clinging to her forehead. She notices that she has also rolled up the short sleeves of her black top, and the hem of her black jeans, in an attempt to keep cool. She's wearing all black, and I'm over here complaining while wearing my loose white v-neck, she thinks to herself. She doesn't want to snap at the girl, so she keeps quiet, because she knows that if she attempts a response, it would not come out how she would intend.

Emily notices the lack of a response from the blonde and sighs inwardly. Their journey toward the community of Tectum hasn't been too long, but it has been extremely excruciating, due to the blistering, and unexpected heat of the sun. Naomi and the boys insisted that they make a journey to the outskirts of Tectum as soon as possible, so that they could see first-hand what they would be dealing with. During which, Naomi would sketch out the defensive mechanisms that were visible to the eye from the outside. From there, she would have a much easier time sketching the defensive mechanisms within the depths of gated community, through Emily's thorough details.

They began their trek the morning after all alliances were confirmed, and the agreements clarified to each individual. To Naomi, the alliance meant shedding some light onto questions that she has harbored within her since Gina had passed. Not to mention having to satisfy her growing curiosity toward the intriguing redhead. For the boys, it meant Freddie's life. For Emily, it meant Katie's.

It took quite a bit of time, but Naomi had managed to extract the third and final bullet from within the confines of Freddie's body. Although the extraction was successful, Freddie was still extremely weak from loss of blood, which triggered the decision to rest that night and begin the journey in the morning.

That next morning, however, Freddie seemed weaker than he did the night before. Much to the worries of his mates, Freddie insisted that he was fine and was good to go ahead in the journey. It was evident to everyone in the party, that Freddie was in no shape to travel through the troublesome terrains of the forests of Proelio, and might even act as a burden to the group, but he insisted with much finality, that the group couldn't help but leave it to that.

Then there came the actual navigation through the forest. To Emily, Naomi and herself were the best to lead, considering it was Emily's community they were heading toward, and Naomi knew the ins and outs of the forests like no one else could. She figured the boys could just follow them. Naomi blatantly refused.

Naomi had insisted on bringing up the rear, her reasoning being that she had absolutely no trust in any of the boys. She explained to Emily that she wouldn't travel any other way, and she would be damned if she were to travel with her back against them, leaving her completely in their range of attack.

Emily had no choice but to comply, and so, on their travel to Tectum, Emily was at the utmost front, leading the way. Every once and awhile, she would head over to the Naomi, to ask about certain things about the forest, or Naomi would call her back to where she was, so she could warn her of certain dangers as well. Freddie and JJ trailed behind Emily, with Cook right behind them. That was also intentional. Naomi figured it would be best to have Cook the closest to her, being the leader of the group of boys, she assumed that he would be the most dangerous.

So they trekked to Tectum, exactly in that order, with the exception of Emily's occasional trip to the back of the group.

"Naomi," She begins again, standing in front of the blonde. She doesn't walk backward like Cook did, and with the sudden movement of her actions, Naomi walks right into the redhead.

"What the fuck," the blonde curses, as she extracts her body from the girl in front of her. Emily doesn't budge.

"Naomi, we need to communicate. You can't just not tell me things, especially if it directly or indirectly affects the mission, and you know this."

The blonde is taller than her by about five inches, so she has to lift her head a considerable amount, in order to be able to look right into the other girl's eyes.

It seems that Naomi isn't listening, and instead, has her eyes fixed toward the path ahead. Before she knows what's going on, the girl pushes past the redhead and starts to sprint toward the boys.

"Wait, don't go any further!" She yells frantically. It seems as though the boys have gotten several paces ahead of the girls during their slight collision, and is far enough for Naomi to have to yell loudly at them.

The boys turn around, questioning looks on all of their faces.

Before they're able to ask what had caused the sudden panic in the blonde's tone in voice, and to Emily's horror, the boys begin to sink.

"Quicksand!" Emily yells, as she darts after the blonde toward the boys.

It takes them a mere second to understand what the two girls were saying, but that was all it took. In seconds, the sand was already up to their ankles.

Once they realize what is happening, they begin to panic.

Naomi reaches them first, Emily not far behind. Her eyes dart around the forest floor and finds what she's looking for. A long green root that belongs to a neighboring Blue Spruce tree, that is loosely caught on the ground. She reaches down into her tall black leather boots that reaches half of her calves, and pulls out a six inch bladed hunting knife. As quickly and as efficient as she could, she begins to cut at the root. As she cuts away at the root, Emily is attempting to keep the boys calm, to prevent them from sinking faster than they were.

After another few seconds, Naomi pulls the root free of its confines. She's by Emily's side in a matter of seconds, knife back in the holster of her boot, long flexible root in hand. The root that she's chosen is approximately seven feet long.

"Cook! Grab on to the root!" She yells at the boy closest to her.

Without hesitation, Cook grabs onto their lifeline, but instead of pulling himself out first, he makes his way closer to the other two. He makes it to them, but with much struggling, which has caused him to sink even faster. Now, he is chest deep in quicksand, while the other two are only waist deep. His predicament doesn't seem to faze him, as he thrusts the root into JJ's hands.

"Take it!" He yells at the curly haired boy. "Hold on ta Freds' waist, and pull'em out wit ya. I'll push him from behind."

JJ doesn't hesitate to follow his orders, as he grips tightly onto the thin root, taking Freddie by the waste. Once Cook sees that Freddie is secure in JJ's arms, he turns to the girls.

"Now!"

Emily has situated herself behind Naomi, hands gripped firmly on the end of the root.

"1, 2, 3, PULL!"

The girls give a massive heave, and the boys begin to rise to the surface.

"1, 2, 3, PULL!"

Another massive pull, and the boys are halfway out, with Cook behind them, pushing with all his might against Freddie's body.

"1, 2, 3, PULL!"

On the third and final pull, the boys manage to climb out of the quicksand. They're breathing heavily on the ground, half of their body covered, but they are quick to get up on their feet.

"Cook!"

All four heads turn to the boy in the sand. At that point, the sand is up to his neck, but he has managed to keep one of his arms up in the air, free from the sand.

"Cook! Hang on mate!" Freddie yells, as he grabs the root from Naomi's grasp.

He gets on all fours as he reaches the root as far as he can to the drowning boy.

"Grab for it! Now!"

Cook reaches for the lifeline with his free arm. He grabs onto it, and gives Freddie a nod, signifying that he has a good grip.

With great show of strength for someone in his condition, wit Freddie manages to pull Cook completely out of the quicksand with one strong pull. Once on safe ground, JJ rushes to help Freddie pull him further from the trap. Emily is beside them in a second, inspecting the boy.

"Cook, mate, ar-are you alright? Freddie heaves out, as he catches his breath.

The sandy-haired boy is lying, his back to the ground, eyes half closed.

"Yeah, Freds, mate. I'm alright. No harm here."

His voice sounds weak as he attempts a smile.

Naomi stands away from the group, watching on as the others made sure that Cook was indeed alright. She is surprised, to say the least, at Cook's leadership skills, and how easily the boys followed order without hesitation. He really is a leader, she thinks to herself. She can't help but feel a bit of respect toward him, at his display of leadership and quick thinking.

Maybe he's not too bad, she thinks. She shakes her head. She was getting really tired of her easy trusting nature that she seemed to have gained the moment she set her eyes on the redhead. Don't go soft, Campbell, she thinks.

Emily gets up from her kneeling position in front of Cook. He seemed to be doing okay, but she can't be sure. For a clear diagnosis, she needs Naomi to look him over.

"Naomi," she begins as she walks toward the blonde. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him physically, not from what I can tell anyways. Can you look at him, please?"

Naomi just nods, and heads toward the boy on the ground. She kneels in front of him and examines his body briefly. She doesn't need to linger too long on his physical body, seeing as most of it was covered in quicksand, even without his clothes, which was what he was now; basically naked, except for the tight black boxers that covered his dignity.

After her brief examination of his body, she studies his face.

No scratches or forming bruises. He seems fine, she thinks, but then she looks at his eyes.

In them, she sees an almost vacant stare at nothing in particular. He must be in shock, she concludes.

"Cook," she says, "Can you hear me you wanker?"

Cook shifts his gaze, so that he's looking into Naomi's eyes.

"I'm alright, Blondie. Nuthin' to be worryin' yourself about, alright?"

"You're not fooling anybody, Cook. I think you're in shock, and it won't be a good idea to continue until you get out of it."

At hearing her words, Cook quickly sits up into a sitting position.

"Nah, Blondie, I'm tellin' ya, I'm alright."

Naomi sighs and gives him a pointed look.

"She's right, mate. We could use a small break anyways to wash all of this sand off. It's beginning to dry on us," Freddie says.

JJ nods in agreement, as does Emily.

"There's a small stream that runs through here, just beyond those trees ahead of us. We'll take a quick break to wash up and hydrate," Naomi says as she stands up off of the ground.

Cook sighs, and slowly gets up.

"We could use a wash up and some drinking water," he finally says.

"So it's settled," Emily says and looks at the blonde.

"Lead the way, Naomi."


End file.
